Life Together by Bonhoeffer (Chapter 5)

Bonhoeffer ends his book with the last chapter titled “Confession and Communion”. In this chapter, he reinforces the idea that the community is made up of sinners. All of these sinners need to confess their sins. At the beginning of the chapter Bonhoeffer describes the Gospel as, “You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone” (Bonhoeffer 111). When this occurs, we become Christ to each other. Bonhoeffer puts an emphasis on the confession of sins as it is part of being accountable. There is a direct command in the Bible to confess our sins to one another. James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (NIV). If there is a command to do it then it must be done. The act of confession leads people to Jesus. As we confess our sins to one another we also must pray for one another. In order for Christians to confess their sins to one another, they must be in a close community. When a person confesses their sin to another person, it makes them humble, and the act of self-justification is gotten rid of.

He ends the entire book and chapter by briefly discussing communion. I love what he says: “The of the Lord’s Supper is an occasion of joy for the Christian community. Reconciled in their hearts with God and the brethren, the congregation receives the gift of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, and, receiving that, it receives forgiveness, new life and slvation. It is given new fellowship with God and men” (Bonhoeffer 122). People cannot come to the communion table without confessing their sins to the Lord. Confession prepares us to go to the Lord’s table.

Works Cited

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Translated by John W Doberstein, Harper & Row Publishers, 1954.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Zondervan, 2005.